WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:03.759 It is Friday afternoon in Jerusalem, and the sky has 2 00:00:03.799 --> 00:00:06.559 gone dark in the middle of the day. On a 3 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:11.240 hill just outside the city walls, three Roman crosses stand 4 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.720 against that blackened sky. The middle cross holds the body 5 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.280 of a man who, just hours ago was dragged through 6 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:24.719 the streets, beaten beyond recognition, and nailed to rough timber 7 00:00:25.199 --> 00:00:29.800 in front of a screaming crowd. His name is Jesus 8 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:34.840 of Nazareth, and he is dead. The disciples who followed 9 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.719 him for three years gone scattered. Peter, the one who 10 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:44.200 swore he would die before abandoning Jesus, has already denied 11 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:48.719 knowing him three times. The others are hiding behind locked 12 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:53.439 doors somewhere in the city, terrified that the same authorities 13 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:57.320 who killed their teacher are coming for them next. The 14 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:01.000 Roman soldiers are still there, dividing up the dead man's 15 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:04.599 clothing like it is a yard sale. The religious leaders 16 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:08.920 are still there, too, satisfied they got what they wanted. 17 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:13.799 The Pharisees and Sadducees, who spent months plotting this execution, 18 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:18.319 are watching the final breath leave his body. It is finished. 19 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:23.319 Their problem is solved, And in this moment, when everyone 20 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.920 who loved. Jesus is running away, and everyone who hated 21 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:31.439 him is celebrating. One man does something that nobody expected. 22 00:01:32.120 --> 00:01:36.000 He walks straight to the Roman governor's palace. He requests 23 00:01:36.040 --> 00:01:40.359 a private audience with Pontius Pilot, the most powerful political 24 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.359 figure in the region, and he asks for the body. 25 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:48.879 Not a disciple, not a family member, not one of 26 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:53.079 the twelve who had traveled with Jesus across Galilee. A 27 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.719 member of the Sanhedrin, a member of the very court 28 00:01:56.879 --> 00:02:01.319 that just sentenced Jesus to death. His name is Joseph. 29 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:05.680 He is from a town called Arimathea, and his story 30 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:08.680 might be the most underrated act of courage in the 31 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:13.639 entire Bible. Here is what gets lost in most English translations. 32 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:18.000 When the Gospel of John introduces this man. The original 33 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:21.919 Greek uses a specific word to describe him. The word 34 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:28.919 is kekrimenos. It means hidden, concealed, kept secret on purpose. 35 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:34.159 John chapter nineteen, verse thirty eight says Joseph was a 36 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:39.080 disciple of Jesus, but kekriminos secretly because he feared the 37 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:43.759 Jewish authorities, not because he was unsure, not because he 38 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:47.439 was halfway committed. He was afraid and given what he 39 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:49.919 knew about the men he sat with every day in 40 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:54.439 the Sanhedrin, he had every reason to be Think about 41 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.759 what that means for a second. This man sat in 42 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:02.639 the highest religious court in Israel, seventy one members, the 43 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:08.360 supreme authority on Jewish law, theology, and community governance. These 44 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:11.319 were the same men who had been tracking Jesus for months, 45 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:14.919 sending spies to his sermons, trying to trap him with 46 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:18.360 trick questions, and Joseph was in the room for all 47 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.240 of it. Imagine going to work every day and sitting 48 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:25.560 across the table from people who despise the one person 49 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:29.680 who has changed your life. Imagine hearing the mock what 50 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:33.960 you believe, plot against someone you love, and you cannot 51 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:40.639 say a word because if they find out, you lose everything, 52 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:47.159 your seat on the council, your reputation, your livelihood, may 53 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:51.479 be your life. That is what Cakriminos looks like in practice. 54 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:56.120 And he was not alone. The Gospel of John tells 55 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.639 us there was another man hiding in plain sight, nik Kademus, 56 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.560 you might remember him. He is the Pharisee who came 57 00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:08.120 to Jesus at night in John chapter three because he 58 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:12.719 could not risk being seen during the day, and notice 59 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:17.879 that detail at night. John does not include that by accident, 60 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:22.240 the streets of Jerusalem were dark and empty. Nobody would 61 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:25.800 see a Pharisee knocking on the door of a Galileean rabbi. 62 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:30.639 Nobody would report back to the council. Nicodemus needed the 63 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:33.920 cover of darkness to have a conversation that could ruin 64 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:38.279 his career. And what did he say when he got there, Rabbi, 65 00:04:38.680 --> 00:04:40.759 we know that you are a teacher who has come 66 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:46.319 from God. We know plural. Nicodemus was not speaking only 67 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.959 for himself. He was telling Jesus that there were others 68 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.120 on the council, others among the elite, who recognized who 69 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:58.000 he was. They just could not say it publicly. Then 70 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:01.480 Nicodemus asked one of the most famous questions in all 71 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:05.800 of Scripture, how can a man be born again? And 72 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:09.439 Jesus answered with words that have echoed through two thousand 73 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.439 years of history. For God so loved the world that 74 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:18.800 he gave his only begotten son. That conversation happened at night, 75 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:23.360 in secret, between a terrified religious leader and the man 76 00:05:23.399 --> 00:05:26.480 he believed was sent by God, and the whole time 77 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:30.000 Nicodemus knew that if anyone found out, it was over 78 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:35.040 for him. Two men, both members of the ruling religious elite, 79 00:05:35.399 --> 00:05:40.920 both secretly following a Galilean carpenter they believed was the Messiah, 80 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.040 both terrified of what would happen if any one found out, 81 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:50.319 both living double lives inside the most dangerous institution in 82 00:05:50.360 --> 00:05:55.079 the country for someone who believed what they believed. Now, 83 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:58.959 before we go further into what Joseph did that Friday afternoon, 84 00:05:59.399 --> 00:06:03.040 we need to understand who he actually was, because the 85 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:07.720 details the gospel writers include are not random. Every word 86 00:06:07.879 --> 00:06:12.439 was chosen for a reason. Mark's Gospel calls Joseph a 87 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:17.040 prominent member of the council. The Greek word there is euskemon. 88 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:21.920 It literally means of good form, but in first century 89 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:26.720 usage it described someone of high social standing, wealth and 90 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.319 public respect. This was not some fringe member who sat 91 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:36.079 in the back row. Joseph was prominent. People knew his name, 92 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.519 his opinion carried weight. Luke adds another layer. He calls 93 00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:47.680 Joseph good and righteous, using the Greek words agathos and dichios. 94 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:52.680 In Jewish culture, being called diachios was not casual praise. 95 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.199 It meant someone who lived in alignment with the Torah, 96 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.160 someone whose life reflected genuine devas devotion to God. Luke 97 00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:05.240 is telling us that this was not a politician playing 98 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:10.600 both sides. Joseph's faith was real, deep, and known to God, 99 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:14.040 even if it was hidden from the council. And then 100 00:07:14.439 --> 00:07:17.600 Luke drops one more detail that might be the most 101 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:22.000 important clue of all. He says Joseph was waiting for 102 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:26.519 the kingdom of God. The Greek phrase is pros dikomenos 103 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:33.879 ten basileyan two tho. That word prosdkomenos means to eagerly expect, 104 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:38.160 to look forward to with anticipation. It is the posture 105 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.759 of someone who believes something is coming and has oriented 106 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:45.959 their entire inner life around it. This man was not 107 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:51.600 casually curious about Jesus. He was a devout, wealthy, respected 108 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:54.800 elder who had staked his private hope on the coming 109 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:59.439 of God's kingdom, and somehow in the teachings and miracles 110 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:03.759 of a cup from Nazareth he recognized it. So where 111 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:08.199 is Arimathea? This is one of those small Biblical mysteries 112 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:12.639 that scholars have debated for centuries. The name likely corresponds 113 00:08:12.680 --> 00:08:17.040 to ramathimes of Fim, a town mentioned in First Samuel 114 00:08:17.319 --> 00:08:21.079 as the birthplace of the prophet Samuel. It sat in 115 00:08:21.160 --> 00:08:25.839 the hill country of Ephraim, roughly twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem. 116 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:29.399 Some scholars link it to the modern village of Renis 117 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:33.000 in the West Bank. Others place it closer to Ramalah. 118 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:38.200 What matters more than the exact GPS coordinates is what 119 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:43.320 the identification tells us. Joseph was not from Jerusalem. He 120 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:47.200 was from a smaller town, probably from an established family 121 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:51.519 with land and influence. He had risen to a position 122 00:08:51.679 --> 00:08:54.879 on the Sanhedrin, which meant he had earned the respect 123 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:59.759 of the religious establishment over many years. His entire social 124 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:04.000 wars the world was built on his reputation within that system, 125 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:07.559 and that system had just executed the man he believed 126 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:10.879 was the son of God. Think about that weight for 127 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:15.080 a moment. This is not abstract theology. This is a 128 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.919 man watching the people he works with every day murder 129 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.360 the person who gave his life meaning, and he is 130 00:09:22.440 --> 00:09:25.960 sitting there silent because he is afraid of what they 131 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:29.279 will do if he speaks up. If you have ever 132 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.600 been in a room where everyone around you believed something, 133 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:35.960 you knew was wrong, and you stayed quiet because the 134 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.679 cost of speaking felt too high. Then you already know 135 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:44.960 something about Joseph of Arimathea. Maybe it was not a 136 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:48.919 religious council, maybe it was a dinner table, or a 137 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:53.320 boardroom or a group chat. But the feeling is the same, 138 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.480 that not in your stomach when conviction and fear are 139 00:09:57.480 --> 00:10:02.480 pulling in opposite directions. Joseph lived with that not for months, 140 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.279 maybe years, And we can actually trace when it got worse, 141 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:11.000 because the Gospels give us a timeline, and if you 142 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:14.919 follow it carefully, you can see the pressure building inside 143 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.120 Joseph like water behind a dam. A few weeks before 144 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:22.960 that Friday, something happened in a small village called Bethany, 145 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.360 about two miles east of Jerusalem. A man named Lazarus, 146 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.919 a close friend of Jesus, had been dead and buried 147 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:36.000 for four days. His body was already decomposing. His sisters 148 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:39.799 Martha and Mary, were in mourning, and Jesus walked up 149 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:44.799 to the sealed tomb and said two words, Lazarus, come out. 150 00:10:45.639 --> 00:10:50.960 And Lazarus came out, wrapped in burial cloth, stumbling into 151 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:57.159 the daylight alive. Word of this reached Jerusalem Fast and 152 00:10:57.320 --> 00:11:01.759 John chapter eleven, verse forty seven tells us exactly what 153 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:05.960 happened next. The chief priests and the Pharisees called an 154 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:10.120 emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin. Joseph was in that room. 155 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:15.279 They were panicking, what are we accomplishing? They said, this 156 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.879 man is performing many signs. If we let him go 157 00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:22.399 on like this, every one will believe in him, and 158 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:25.480 then the Romans will come and take away both our 159 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:32.120 temple and our nation. The political calculation was naked. This 160 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:36.960 was not about theology. This was about power. If too 161 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:40.440 many people followed Jesus, Rome would see it as an 162 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:46.080 insurrection and the Sanhedrin would lose its authority. And then Caiaphas, 163 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:50.000 the High Priest, stood up and said something that echoes 164 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.759 through history. You do not realize that it is better 165 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:57.120 for you that one man die for the people than 166 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:01.519 that the whole nation perish one man and die for 167 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:07.240 political convenience. And everyone in that room nodded. Joseph heard 168 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:11.240 that sentence, He heard the highest religious authority in his 169 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:15.600 nation calmly propose the murder of the man he believed 170 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.919 was the Messiah, and he could not say a word. 171 00:12:19.799 --> 00:12:22.320 Have you ever sat in a room and heard someone 172 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.799 say something that made your blood go cold, and looked 173 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:29.399 around and realized you were the only one who felt it, 174 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:33.799 that everyone else was nodding. That is where Joseph was 175 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:40.440 the loneliest seat in Jerusalem. Then came Passover week. Jesus 176 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:45.080 entered Jerusalem riding a donkey while crowds waved palm branches 177 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:49.759 and shouted Hosanna. He walked into the temple and overturned 178 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:53.200 the tables of the money changers. He taught openly in 179 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.600 the temple courts, while the Sanhedrin sent agents to find 180 00:12:56.600 --> 00:12:59.919 a way to arrest him. Quietly away from the crowd, 181 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:04.960 Joseph watched all of this unfold from inside the institution 182 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:08.440 that was plotting it. Every day that week he went 183 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:12.360 to the council, heard the latest strategy to trap Jesus, 184 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:16.399 and said nothing. Every night he went home carrying the 185 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.440 weight of what he knew was coming. By Thursday evening, 186 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:23.559 when Judas led the temple guards to the garden of 187 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:29.240 gethsemone and Jesus was arrested, Joseph already knew he had 188 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:32.679 been watching this train wreck approach for weeks, and when 189 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:36.120 they dragged Jesus into the High Priest's house for that 190 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:41.600 illegal midnight trial. Joseph was there, but something was about 191 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:45.039 to change because Luke tells us one more thing about 192 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:48.440 that Friday, and it changes everything we think we know 193 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:53.279 about what happened inside the Sanhedrin the night before. Luke 194 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:57.679 Chapter twenty three, verse fifty one five Greek words that 195 00:13:57.840 --> 00:14:02.799 rewrite the entire trial narrative of hutos uk and sinhka 196 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:07.519 tata taimenos tabula. This man had not consented to their 197 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:13.759 decision and action. That word sinca tata taimenos is dense. 198 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.720 It is a compound verb meaning to vote together with 199 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:22.759 to place one's approval alongside, and Luke says Joseph did 200 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.840 not do it. He did not consent, He did not 201 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.399 add his vote to the pile. Now think about what 202 00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:34.840 that implies. The Sanhedrin trial of Jesus described in Matthew 203 00:14:34.919 --> 00:14:40.519 and Mark happened at night. This is critical Jewish legal tradition. 204 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:45.639 In the Mishnah specifically prohibited capital trials at night. The 205 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.559 law required that capital cases be heard during the daytime, 206 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:53.279 that the verdict be delivered the following day to allow 207 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:59.440 for reconsideration, and that witnesses be examined separately to prevent collusion. 208 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.480 There were also rules about when trials could not take 209 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:07.039 place at all, including the eve of a sabbath or 210 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.360 a festival day. The trial of Jesus violated nearly every 211 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.679 one of these safeguards. It was held at night in 212 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:18.720 the private residence of the High Priest caiaphas, not in 213 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.960 the official hall of hewn Stone, where the Sanhedrin normally convened. 214 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:26.919 The witnesses brought forward could not agree with each other. 215 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:31.440 Mark says, their testimonies did not match, and the verdict 216 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.519 was delivered immediately on the same night, with no waiting 217 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:40.159 period for reconsideration. Why does this matter because it means 218 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.320 Joseph was sitting in a room watching a rigged proceeding. 219 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:48.480 This was not justice. This was a predetermined outcome dressed 220 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:52.320 up in the appearance of a legal process. The powerful 221 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.440 men around him had already decided what the verdict would 222 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:59.559 be before the first witness opened his mouth, and Joseph 223 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:03.440 was there. He watched it happen. He saw the High 224 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.799 Priest tear his robes and declare Jesus guilty of blasphemy. 225 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.720 He heard the crowd around the council chambers screaming for blood. 226 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:16.559 And when the vote came, Joseph did something that most 227 00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.799 of us would never have the courage to do. He 228 00:16:19.879 --> 00:16:24.399 said no, or, more precisely, he refused to say yes. 229 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:28.519 In a room full of the most powerful religious authorities 230 00:16:28.519 --> 00:16:32.320 in the nation, when the political pressure was suffocating and 231 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:37.600 the mob outside was demanding execution, Joseph of Arimathea withheld 232 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:41.120 his consent. We do not know if he spoke up openly. 233 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.279 We do not know if he argued against the verdict 234 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.519 or simply sat in silence while others raised their hands. 235 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:52.759 Luke does not tell us those details, but he does 236 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.879 tell us the result. Joseph's hands were clean of that vote. 237 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:00.480 When every other voice in that chamber said guilty, his 238 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:05.359 was not among them. And Nicodemus we know from John 239 00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:09.000 chapter seven that he had already tried once to defend 240 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:13.519 Jesus in front of the Pharisees, asking does our Lord 241 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:18.359 judge a man without first hearing him? They shut him down. Immediately. 242 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:24.400 Are you from Galilee two? They sneered. The implication was clear, 243 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:29.559 defend this man and you become the enemy too. So 244 00:17:29.720 --> 00:17:33.039 here are two men sitting in that chamber during the 245 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:37.240 most corrupt trial in history, knowing it is wrong, knowing 246 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:41.599 the verdict is predetermined, and unable to stop it. Have 247 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:46.039 you been there, Not at a trial, obviously, but at 248 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.799 the moment where you see something happening that you know 249 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:52.799 is wrong, and the power structure around you has already decided, 250 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:57.359 and your voice feels so small against the machinery that 251 00:17:57.400 --> 00:18:02.720 you convince yourself staying quiet is the only option. Joseph 252 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:06.920 was there, and for one night he stayed quiet. But 253 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:12.480 then Friday came, and Friday changed everything. Because there is 254 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.599 a moment in every person's life when the cost of 255 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:19.599 silence becomes greater than the cost of speaking, when what 256 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:24.480 you are watching happen is so wrong, so final, so devastating, 257 00:18:25.160 --> 00:18:30.079 that the fear that kept you hidden just breaks. For 258 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:35.720 Joseph of Arimathea, that moment was watching Jesus die, and 259 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:40.480 look at who else was there? Mark, Chapter fifteen, Verses 260 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:45.480 forty and forty one. While the twelve Apostles the Inner Circle, 261 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.599 the men who had eaten with Jesus and walked with 262 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:52.240 him and promised to follow him to death. While all 263 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:55.680 of them had vanished, a group of women stood watching 264 00:18:56.359 --> 00:19:00.160 Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, is 265 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:05.319 Salomi and others. Mark says they had followed Jesus from 266 00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:10.720 Galilee and cared for his needs. They were there. They 267 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:14.559 did not run. They stood on that hill and watched 268 00:19:14.599 --> 00:19:18.680 the man they loved suffocate on a Roman cross. But 269 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.880 notice what Mark says about their position. They were watching 270 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:28.200 from a distance upp Omacrathen, from far off, close enough 271 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:31.839 to see, but far enough to be safe. They were present, 272 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:37.039 but they were not intervening. They could not intervene. They 273 00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.400 were women in a world controlled by Roman soldiers and 274 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:45.160 Jewish elders. They had no political standing, They had no 275 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:49.880 legal authority. All they could do was watch and grieve. 276 00:19:50.680 --> 00:19:54.279 Now hold that image in your mind. The apostles have fled, 277 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:58.160 The women are watching from a distance, The soldiers are 278 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:03.240 dividing up the clothing. Religious leaders are satisfied, And into 279 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:08.200 that scene walks Joseph, not from a distance, not hiding, 280 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:13.039 not watching, walking directly into the center of Roman power 281 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:17.160 to claim the body of a condemned man. The contrast 282 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:20.480 is staggering. The people who had the least to lose, 283 00:20:20.920 --> 00:20:24.519 the twelve disciples, who were nobodies from Galilee, they ran 284 00:20:25.279 --> 00:20:28.200 the people who had the most to lose, a wealthy 285 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:32.519 Sanhedrin member whose entire reputation and career were on the line, 286 00:20:32.920 --> 00:20:37.640 he stepped forward. That is what makes this moment so extraordinary. 287 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:42.599 And it starts with one Greek word Mark, Chapter fifteen, 288 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:46.759 verse forty three. And here is where the Greek text 289 00:20:46.839 --> 00:20:51.599 reveals something extraordinary. Mark uses a word to describe what 290 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:55.839 Joseph did next, and this single word tells you everything 291 00:20:55.880 --> 00:21:00.079 about the transformation that happened inside this man between on 292 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:05.720 Thursday night and Friday afternoon. The word is tolmesas it 293 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:09.839 comes from the verb tolmao, which means to dare, to 294 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:12.880 have courage, to be bold enough to do something that 295 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.960 involves serious risk. This is not the bravery of someone 296 00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:20.599 with nothing to lose. Tol Maao is the courage of 297 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:24.200 someone who knows exactly what they are risking and does 298 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:30.000 it anyway. Mark says, Joseph Tolmesus, having dared, went to 299 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:34.000 Pilot and asked for the body of Jesus. Read that again. 300 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:39.359 Having dared, Mark wants you to understand that what Joseph 301 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:43.680 did next was not normal. It was not expected, it 302 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.759 was not safe. It was an act of defiance that 303 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:50.640 could have cost him his career, his standing, his freedom, 304 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:56.759 and possibly his life, and he did it any way. 305 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:01.079 Here is why it mattered so much. Under Roman law, 306 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:06.759 when someone was executed by crucifixion, the body typically belonged 307 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:11.279 to Rome. Crucifixion was not just a death sentence, it 308 00:22:11.400 --> 00:22:14.240 was a statement. The body was often left on the 309 00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:18.960 cross for days as a public warning birds and animals 310 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.599 would consume it. The family was denied a proper burial. 311 00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:26.200 That was the point. Rome wanted you to see what 312 00:22:26.359 --> 00:22:30.240 happens when you challenge the empire. For a Jewish man 313 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:33.640 to walk into the Roman governor's palace and request the 314 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:36.839 body of a man who was just executed for claiming 315 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:40.519 to be a king, a direct challenge to Roman authority, 316 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:45.680 was extraordinary. Joseph was essentially walking up to Pilot and saying, 317 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:50.839 I am publicly associating myself with this condemned criminal. I 318 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:54.000 am claiming his body. I am giving him the burial 319 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:59.240 that Rome deliberately denied. Pilot was surprised, and the Greek 320 00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:05.079 word mark uses here is worth pausing on ethelmisen. He marveled, 321 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:10.279 He was astonished. This is not mild curiosity. This is 322 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:14.680 a Roman governor, a man who had overseen dozens of crucifixions, 323 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:19.000 genuinely taken aback that a victim had died this quickly. 324 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:24.599 Crucifixion was designed to be slow. It was Rome's masterpiece 325 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:28.960 of cruelty. The victim's weight would slowly compress the lungs, 326 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:34.279 making each breath a conscious battle against gravity. Most victims 327 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:39.240 lasted two or three days. Some survived even longer. The 328 00:23:39.319 --> 00:23:42.279 soldiers at the base of the cross were trained to wait. 329 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:47.119 They knew the timeline six hours was almost unheard of. 330 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:51.480 So Pilot did something that reveals how seriously he took 331 00:23:51.559 --> 00:23:55.759 this request. He summoned the centurion, the officer who had 332 00:23:55.799 --> 00:23:58.680 been standing at the foot of the cross all afternoon. 333 00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:03.839 This is the same centurion who, according to Mark, chapter fifteen, 334 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.839 verse thirty nine, had watched the way Jesus died and said, truly, 335 00:24:09.079 --> 00:24:14.200 this man was the son of God. That centurion Pilot 336 00:24:14.279 --> 00:24:18.480 called him in and asked directly whether Jesus was already dead. 337 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:23.839 The centurion confirmed it, and only then did Pilot release 338 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:27.599 the body. Think about this scene for a moment. Joseph 339 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:32.759 is standing in the praetorium. The Roman governor's official residence, waiting. 340 00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:35.559 He has just asked for the body of a man 341 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:40.319 executed for sedition against Rome. Pilot is across from him, 342 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:45.119 studying this well dressed Jewish elder, probably wondering what his 343 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:51.599 angle is. A centurion is called in to testify. Official 344 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:56.720 Roman confirmation of death is given, and then Pilot, for 345 00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:01.880 reasons the text does not fully explain, says yes. Some 346 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:06.000 scholars believe that Pilot may have felt guilt over the execution. 347 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.359 He had already told the crowd, I find no fault 348 00:25:10.599 --> 00:25:14.880 in this man. He had washed his hands publicly. Granting 349 00:25:14.920 --> 00:25:17.359 the body to a respected elder may have been his 350 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:20.759 way of distancing himself from the ugliness of what the 351 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:25.559 Sanhedrin had pressured him into. Whatever his reasons, the body 352 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.680 was released, and Joseph walked out of that palace carrying 353 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.839 a burden that no one else in Jerusalem was willing 354 00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:38.400 to touch. And now the clock was ticking. In Jewish practice, 355 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:43.079 the Sabbath began at sunset on Friday. Once the Sabbath started, 356 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:49.079 everything stopped work, travel, handling, the dead, burial rights, all 357 00:25:49.119 --> 00:25:52.640 of it was forbidden until the following evening. And this 358 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:56.599 was not just any Sabbath. The next day was also 359 00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:00.319 the first day of Passover, the holiest festival in the 360 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:05.359 Jewish calendar. The urgency was extreme. To leave a body 361 00:26:05.559 --> 00:26:10.440 unburied overnight was considered a violation of Deuteronomy chapter twenty one, 362 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:14.319 which commands that a dead body must not remain hanging 363 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:18.400 on a tree overnight, but must be buried that same day. 364 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:23.400 For a man like Joseph, who Luke describes as Dikaios righteous, 365 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:27.440 fulfilling this command was not optional. It was a matter 366 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:31.960 of obedience to the Torah itself. So picture the scene. 367 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:36.200 Joseph has just left Pilot's palace with permission to take 368 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:40.039 the body. The sun is already dropping toward the horizon. 369 00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:43.759 He has to get to Golgatha, take a crucified body 370 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:47.680 down from a cross transport it, prepare it for burial, 371 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:51.599 and seal the tomb before sunset. All of this with 372 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:55.720 a body that has been scourged, pierced, and hanging for hours. 373 00:26:56.440 --> 00:27:00.480 He bought fine linen the Greek word is sinndon, a 374 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:04.519 clean white cloth of high quality. This was not cheap 375 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:08.240 burial fabric. This was the linen of a wealthy man, 376 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:13.279 purchased for a specific purpose. In Jewish burial practice, the 377 00:27:13.319 --> 00:27:16.440 body would be washed with warm water in a ritual 378 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:22.240 called rachitza, a final act of dignity and purification. Then 379 00:27:22.359 --> 00:27:25.000 it would be wrapped tightly in the linen, with the 380 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:29.400 spices packed between the folds to slow decomposition and to 381 00:27:29.559 --> 00:27:33.400 honor the dead. Joseph took the body down from the 382 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:36.920 cross himself or with the help of servants, wrapped it 383 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:41.519 in the sindon, and carried it to a tomb, his tomb, 384 00:27:41.960 --> 00:27:46.559 his personal, never before used tomb, carved into solid rock 385 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:51.599 in a garden near the crucifixion site. Matthew's Gospel emphasizes 386 00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:55.079 that it was Joseph's own new tomb, one he had 387 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.960 hewn out of the rock. He gave away his own 388 00:27:58.319 --> 00:28:02.680 burial place in a culture where your tomb was your 389 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:07.480 final statement of status and legacy. Joseph handed his over 390 00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:11.640 to a dead carpenter from Nazareth, and then John tells 391 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:16.200 us something that makes this scene even more profound. Joseph 392 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:21.240 was not alone. Nicodemus came too, the same Nicodemus who 393 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:24.000 had come to Jesus by night, who had tried to 394 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:27.359 defend him in the council and been ridiculed for it. 395 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:32.640 Nicodemus showed up with seventy five pounds of myrrh and aloes. 396 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:37.960 Seventy five pounds. That is not a modest gesture. That 397 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:43.279 is a burial fit for royalty. Two secret disciples, side 398 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:47.720 by side, performing the most intimate act of devotion imaginable, 399 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:52.279 washing the blood from a broken body, wrapping torn flesh 400 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:57.200 in clean linen, packing burial spices into the folds, placing 401 00:28:57.240 --> 00:29:00.759